China's Domestic Smartwatch Phone Market Sees 17 Mln Shipments in Q1-Q3 2019
CAICT, 11/04/19
During the first three quarters of 2019, total smartwatch phone shipments in China reached approximately 17.4 mln units, according to new figures released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a department of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
China's Smartwatch Phone Market Growing Steadily, 4G Units Comprise ~50% of Shipments
In the first three quarters of 2019, 106 new smartwatch phone models were released in China. Among these, 68, or 66.0%, were 4G models, an increase of 5.7 percentage points over the same period of last year. Total Q1-Q3 2019 smartwatch phone shipments in China reached 17.36 mln units, of which 8.61 mln, or 49.6%, were 4G units. In contrast, during full-year 2017 and 2018, 4G units comprised 24.0% and 45.7%, respectively, of total smartwatch phone shipments in China (while the rest were either 2G or 3G units). The Q1-Q3 2019 4G smartwatch phone shipment figure represents an increase of 6.7% YoY.
4G smartwatch phones are equipped with mobile operating systems, such as Android, which can facilitate various functions that require higher network speeds, such as voice recognition, video calling, online music, maps, reading, and payment.
eSIM Trend in Smartwatches
Since China's three main telecom operators introduced eSIM services, many device makers including Apple, Huawei and Samsung have launched eSIM-enabled smartwatch phones. These smartwatches usually use the operator's "eSIM one phone number multi-terminal" service, in which they bind to a smartphone to share the same phone number. This allows the smartwatch user to make calls, send and receive text messages, complete payments, and enjoy other such functions, even if she is not carrying her mobile phone. In Q1-Q3 2019, shipments of eSIM smartphone watches in China reached 0.7 mln units, up 24.8% YoY.
Children's Smartwatch Phone Market Sees Further Consolidation, Product Micro-Innovation
There are three main market segments for smartwatch phones in China: children, elderly (healthcare), and business/sports users. Of these, the children's segment is the largest. In the first three quarters of 2019, 80 new children's smartwatch phone models were released in China, accounting for 78% of total new smartwatch phone models released in China during the period. Q1-Q3 2019 shipments in China of children's smartwatch phones reached 16.25 mln units, up 1.5% YoY, and accounting for 94% of total smartwatch phone shipments in China during the period.
After years of development, China's children's smartwatch phone market has gradually matured, and experienced increasing consolidation among top brands and dominant models. In the first three quarters of 2019, among the 60-plus children's smartwatch phone makers in the China market, shipments from the top 5 manufacturers accounted for 64% of the domestic market, up 12% YoY.
Children's smartwatch phone functions and applications have grown increasingly sophisticated and varied as the number of models equipped with a mobile operating system has grown. In the first three quarters of 2019, among the 80 new children's smartwatch phone models released, 43 were equipped with a mobile operating system. Applications such as dictionaries, social, photos, and payment have become increasingly common.
Video calls have gradually become a standard function of children's smartwatch phones. In order to provide better video effects and let parents clearly see their child's surrounding environment, the number of cameras in many children's smartwatch phones has increased from 1 to 2. Among the new models of children's smartwatch phones released in China during the first three quarters of 2019, single-camera and dual-camera models comprised 69% and 14% respectively. Based on the small size of children's watches, key camera innovations have centered around wide angle, high definition, and flip features.
Positioning is also a standard function of children's smartwatch phones, allowing parents to monitor their child's position and movements, and effectively provide real-time supervision and guidance. Currently, an increasing number of children's smartphone watches in China support multiple positioning technologies, such as GPS and China's homegrown BeiDou standard, thus improving positioning accuracy. In the first three quarters of 2019, children's smartwatch phones supporting BeiDou accounted for 33% of new products, up 13 percentage points from the same period last year.
Keywords: national statistics hardware wireless smartwatch eSIM Q3 2019 shipment volume wearable computer
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